Bahuguna to be replaced

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, who was criticised for his poor handling of the relief and rehabilitation work carried out by his government after last year’s flash floods in the State, is on his way out, ahead of the general election.

Mr. Bahuguna could resign as early as Friday, senior Congress sources said.

Union Minister for Water Resources Harish Rawat, who represents Haridwar in the Lok Sabha, is now the front runner for Chief Minister.

Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Congress general secretaries Janardan Dwivedi and Ambika Soni, who is in charge of the party affairs in the State, would travel to Dehradun in a day or two as central observers for the changeover, the sources said. The change of guard was expected to take place by February 2, they added.